Taiwanese media have credited F4 as the most popular band,Energy the acrobatic exhibitioners, Comic Boyz the cutest, 5566 the
best singers and dancers. But.......
JJ, known artist in Taiwan reportedly sniggered when he first heard of
F4's album. "Their singing sucks, they need more private tutor before
they make it big, singing is not about good looks, it's about talent.
Vanness is the only person I can see who not only has good looks but
also has talent, otherwise. JJ also poohed 5566 "this quintet can sing
and dance, but I don't like their style, they are like F4 made up. The only
difference between them, 5566 is too close enough to think they are like
girls, while F4 is a disaster off cam and that image is uncool!

Source : Taiwan Bands, JJ, Medella Group, FTV.
*thanks to starsailor2003 of onlyf4

E.N.E.R.G.Y is AH-DI ENERGY

On my forced hiatus I was confronted with a medium
which I'd all but forgotten: Real Journalism ™
After a day or so of continual reading and viewing,
I noticed a trend toward rogue boyband members going solo.
Why?? Why?? Is splitting 100 billion dollars five ways
not enough money to survive on for THE REST OF YOUR
LIFE??
Is Your Band Breaking Up? Why Does Band Break?
"Not, after Toro left, it doesn't mean, we are breaking
apart, we all know we are a band, a solid group with one
goal" Milk clarifies. "Meng Zhe and Wang also were in the news
having injured badly during rehearsals but they are not breaking up.
And let me tell you, the reason why other bands break
up because there is no need for it. They have made enough
trashy music to fill a garbage tip and going solo really is just
committing crimes against humanity! Yan has made the worst
decision ever, but if deciding for himself is best for him
and leaving the group who has made him big and known, go
ahead, like me, if it happened to me, I will not stay with a group
who I feel uncomfortable with, no matter how much effort you
hide the truth, it will come out, people will know that, hence
it will just ruin your fame. The number 1 factor of it to stay longer
in the business is "don't brag, don't lie to your fans, and don't pretend,
be close to your group mates, love and not envy", those qualities
lack F4 which apparently is too much for Energy and 5566"

Shu Wei added "if you love your group, show it not only infront of the
camera, or front of the fans, show it even if your group is not
exposed to media or fans. If one member realizes his mistake, he can still
go back but the percentage of their fame is another story"

However, F4 is yet to crack the elusive All-Asia-Market before calling themselves
popular, only selling a measly thousand records so far. Is it too late for them?

Although according to Shu Wei,5566 is a huge crowd-drawing force
since they started, they are not exposed on news but they have a stand on.

According to Medella, 5566 and Energy top the charts and surveys
in Taiwan in important musical markets. According to Media Papers,
F4 never made it big to their hometown which is one of the reasons why
a lot have been doubting on their abilities, if not for their good looks,
they will not make it big in Hongkong.

Source : Medella Group Singapore, TV Series Fans, FTV Taipei, Media Corporation,
New Paper Taiwan.
*thanks to starsailor2003 of onlyf4

Celebrities living in presidential suites
F4 illuminates
Posted: March 14, 2004

F4 became popular because of "Meteor Garden." Not only are they popular in Taiwan and China, a "Meteor Rain" album makes all Southeast Asia fans go wild. Last year the four guys went to Indonesia to hold a concert. Their management company arranged a 5-star presidental suite for them. And for F4's safety they had very strict security.

F4 has never lived in a presidential suite before. After being in a commodious and extremely comfortable presidential suite, Vanness loves the jacuzzi the most; Ken loves the computer room the most; Jerry would put big and small gifts from fans on the table in the guest room; ZZ is loves the big bed in the presidential suite bedroom the most, "I only have to lie on the chuan2 [boat] (suppose to be chuang2 [bed]) and I'll fall asleep."

Source: Da Cheng Bao

Taken from RB_Chu_Yan of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/onlyjerry

Mavy_ah in Kenzhufamily posted:

Hey everyone. I went to Joed Serrano's office last Sunday to pay for
my VIP ticket. Anyway, I was able to meet Joed personally and got a
chance to chat with him for quite a long while. He told me the guests
for the concert would be the Starstruck survivors, Sarah Geronimo,
Erik Santos and Pops, who's going to sing "Crazy in Luv" w/ Vanness.
I don't know if this is already confirmed but this is what he told
me. By the way, the title of the concert is "Crazy Right Now with
Vanness". Sarah Geronimo will be part of the front act and i think
Vanness is planned to sing 10 songs, excluding the Crazy in Luv. He
will also be singing some English songs. Joed will be hosting the
event (basically he'll just talk in the opening).

By the way, i also asked him stuffs about Ken last Dec26, since i am
a Ken fan myself. This is what he said:

"At first akala ko mabaho si Ken pero nung niyakap namin siya, ang
bango niya talaga at sobrang friendly niya backstage!" (At first i
thought Ken doesn't have a nice smell but when we hugged him onstage,
he really smelled good! And he was extremely friendly backstage!)

Additional stories (some words I translated to eng):

Ken's solo concert will be on May. =) According to Joed they're
looking for a smaller venue to be more "intimate" hehe... =) I told
him to ask Ken to sing Desperado & Qing Ren... Joed said "yes"...
haha =) But im not sure if would remember it.

Jerry's is set to be here on April 29-30. People who manage Jerry are
strict. They only want him to sing 4 songs so it might be a semi-
fashion show type of concert. =) hehe...

Then, in July, it's the four of them again. All their next concerts
will be handled by Mega Media, particularly Joed. =) By the way sis,
according to Joed, they are very particular with gifts. (RB: Joed,
duh?! I dunno with F3, but Jerry wears the shirt give by fans, ayt?)
Vann liked the expensive white polo he gave last Dec26. They are
brand conscious. And Ken got the Lacoste paperbag (RB: This could be
the Lacoste bag thrown in the stage by a fan while Ken was singing).
=) Hayyyyy.....

Is It the End?

A prediction came out since the time boybands conquered the
entertainment industry, and it is a proven formula ...boybands have a
lifespan of two years, the maximum!.
Their second album Fantasy Forever never did well as compared to the
# of sales of their 1st album! Their solo albums also didn't do well,
it sold but not a record-breaking sales!

After their second album flopped, after it didn't reach the # of
sales expected in the whole ASIA
F4 thought of putting and setting aside doing a group album, and as
for soloists, Vanness and Ken are now thinking of a better ingredient
for their 2nd try out solo albums.

F4 was nearing to a disband as a group and go back to their normal
life! It was mainly proven by New Kids on the Block, then to be
succeeded by several other boyband attempts such as Take 6, Menudo,
Color Me Badd, etc. It seems almost like boybands have a curse on
them.

Boybands died in the early nineties, mainly in part to the huge
breakup of NKOTB. The peppy pop sound was replaced by grunge and hard
rock for several years. The creators of NKOTB decided that there was
a new generation of teenyboppers to appeal to now. Old enough to have
been influenced by the NKOTB but young enough not to have been
scarred by the bitter aftereffects. 'Nsync and BSB next in line to go
on separate ways, others succeeded, but not everyone in the band.
Now, a new generation of talents arose in 2000! Because of their
catchy tunes and awesome dance moves, Double 5 Double 6, also known
us 5566, bagged as 5 members with 6 talents,
Sun Xie Zhi, Wang Ren Fu, Peng Kang Yu, Xu Meng Zhe and Wang Shao Wei
soon caught up and battled their competition frequently. 5566 and F4
fans have often dueled on their attributes,
on who's better or not. In such talents, like that of F4 and 5566,
there is always an ongoing rivalry without them knowing that both
groups have already conquered the ASian market, because a rival and a
competitor will not be as sold out in asian market if they have not
carried a name for themselves. They will never be talked about if
they are just plain "F4 or 5566 who?" Fans tangle, fans make noises,
fans compare on who is better than who, But...neither of which coming
up the winner except in their own minds.

F4 might come to a point where they feel they can manage themselves
eventually or if they know it is TIME for them to work individually,
but that doesn't mean that they will forever be gone! Now are they
permanently leaving each other's suitcase? Everyone was quiet about
it, everyone doesn't even want to comment, but all the cards are
properly laid down, it is just you, who could feed your mind on the
truth..now, where does this head? the fans are left hanging and with
no idea what is going on.

Perhaps the prediction that Ms. Wright was told was correct.

F4 may or may not survive as a group for a long time, may not bring
back the old working group, perform as a group like that of 5566 are
doing during the interim of their silence, still the questions are
popping out, will they still able to perform as a group, as F4, as
Flower Four in all parts of Asia? Will they still process the 3rd
album that they once said, will they still have an asian tour? Asian
Tour having Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan on their list? Will
Hongkong concert push through? There are a lot of questions that need
an answer.

Or do we need to add another one? Will F4 stay silent during the next
five months?
Will the interim of silence HELP the band? Can they deny everything
all the time?
Will the fans stay loyal during the term of non-productivity? Some
will say that this decision is greedy on F4 part. But you have to
look at it from their view. If the 5566 can do it, why can't they?
They have rougher schedules as proved by the entire complete tours F4
made during
their beginning, more work hours and harder management than 5566 and
they are making less money as compared to how 5566 earn. It all comes
down to simple economics; if a person is doing more work like you,
but making more money, then you are likely to complain. This is what
is happening. Money or career growth? It's versus vs versus!
As for the loyal fans, the stereotype is that teenyboppers are
flighty. If a band stays on ice for a while, then their fans will
fade away. Only time will tell if this is true or not. True fans will
stay with the group, waiting patiently for the new album. The
teenies, AND the older fans will be determined by their amount of
patience in waiting for the silence to end.

An eye opener for the management of F4, we just hope when the time
comes that you are ready to break the silence, fans are still not
deaf to listen...

CN Journal and http://www.vannesswu.tk/ TV Series.com

F4 to Invade the Philippines This Summer

Biggest boyband in Asia will invade the Philippines once again this summer.. Jerry, Vic, Ken and Vanness or collectively known as F4 will blow a concert after Holy week, to be produced and promoted by ABS-CBN..

But people! Don't rejoice yet cuz nothing here is confirmed yet though DZMM is ABS-CBN's AM radio station.. We still have to wait for authentic informations before rejoicing.. Hehe! Let's just hope and pray for the best..

This is EXCLUSIVE TO EF4... Thanks to MS. XIAOTIAN!

The Battle of Taiwanese Boy Bands

F4
WHO: Four good-lookers who shot to fame thanks to an immensely popular TV drama adaptation of the Japanese comic book, Meteor Garden.

FANS: A mostly female following with fans aged six to 60 from around the world.

FUTURE: The boys have been concentrating on solo careers of late but have not had much success. Perceived as one-hit wonders at home in Taiwan, but still big in the massive markets of mainland China and South-east Asia. May become popular again if they regroup.

5566
WHO: Five average-looking guys who became popular after acting in the drama My MVP Valentine and hosting a variety show, Showbiz.

FANS: A mix of girls and guys from their teens to their 30s in Taiwan and South-east Asia.

FUTURE: May become Taiwan's answer to the long-lasting J-pop group, Smap. Have had two hit dramas and two hit albums. But they have yet to crack the mainland Chinese market.

ENERGY
WHO: Four guys famous for their singing and breakdancing. One of the original five, Toro, left last year over a contractual dispute.

FANS: Mostly teenage girls and women in their 20s in Taiwan and South-east Asia.

FUTURE: 5566's closest competitors. They are at last appearing in a pop-idol show,which may win them more fans in Asia.

Source: Singapore Strait Times 05/03/2004
Thanks to *Midorijade* com1.akheva.com

VANNESS' CONCERT IN CEBU
MARCH 29, 2004
CEBU CITY SPORTS COMPLEX (ABELLANA GROUNDS)
8 PM
 
Special Guests:
 
POPS FERNANDEZ

ERIK SANTOS
 
MARK HERRAS

YASMIEN KURDI
 
 
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE IN NATIONAL BOOKSTORE (MANGO) and ROBINSONS (CUSTOMER SERVICE)
TICKET INQUIRIES:
 
National Bookstore: 2554644
 
 
DON'T MISS THE FUN!!!!
 
EVERYONE IS INVITED ESPECIALLY IN THE NEARBY PROVINCES OF CEBU!
 
 
***thanks to f4iluv from onlyf4

There is chance that F4 might unite as guest
presentors:

The first 3 years of Music Feng Yun Bang Awards
Ceremony has been spectacular. Hence, for the fourth
year, the music event is the look out of all media
representatives. Organisors have revealed that Eason
Cheng, Jay Chou and many other stars will be attending
the ceremony. Faye Wang, Stephanie Sun and others
appearance will made the event even more star-studded.
Another point to make is that organisors have revealed
that F4 are very likely to make a special appearance
and gest presentors. If that's the case, they this
will be the first time that F4 have united since they
went solo.

thanks to article at ilovef4

*thanks to onlyf4.com [lilian]

"It's not Coming Back" - Energy
 
Jerry Yan looks to have sunk the final nail into the coffin of
F4, after admitting he "can't see it coming back together", but we
can still work together in a certain limitation"
 
Vanness - the only member of the former successful boyband, F4 to have
enjoyed a notable solo career - appears to have confirmed months of
speculation about the future of the band and is now project of his
upcoming 2nd solo album.
 
Energy member Kunda quoted: "A lot have gone on and have risen, a lot of
groups have come with respective projects and activities, and F4 have not
been talking in quite awhile to form another group activity in taiwan
or even in hongkong, no one has ever invited them as groups because fans
know they are no longer a group and will never be a group, so to be really
honest, I don't think anything's going to happen with that group to be
formed again as F4!."
 
Since embarking on his solo venture, Vanness has consummately
overshadowed his fellow F4 members in their attempts to carve
out successful careers alone especially in America where Vanness targets to
invade pretty soon.
 
ZZ has been in taiwan charts since the release of his 2nd solo album, but
Ah Di (Energy) was quick to comment "His single Ji De Wo Ai Ni had come in
sharp contrasts to 5566's single, whose careers are blooming, and
Chou's singles or the whole album was in a disastrous chart placing .

In the interview, Kunda concludes: "I don't know what's going on
to be honest, but I can't see it coming back together, by no fault of
anyone."
 
Asked about 5566 success in Singapore and Taiwan.
Kunda admitted "they have conquered the hearts of chinese people, they
are the real successful group in taiwan, and even in hongkong, but we
Energy are not left behind"

 
Source : News asia/New Paper Taiwan

 
 
***thanks to starsailor2003 from onlyf4